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Backup
MusicBee has an internal backup feature, but its functionality is limited. These instructions are intended to offer a more complete solution. Backup for Tracks The easiest way to backup your audio files is actually by Syncing. The advantage to this, as opposed to using MusicBee's backup function or manually copying the files, is that the sync feature will only update files that have been changed and can delete files that are no longer in your library. You can also use the "automatically synchronize when device is connected" command to keep things up-to-date automatically. To backup using sync, follow these steps: *Make sure the Computer node is displayed in the right sidebar. *Right click on your backup drive and go to Manage Folders > Set Letter as a Virtual Device *When the drive appears in the Devices node, configure the Device Settings to your liking **You may not be able to use as complex a naming template here as you do for, say, your auto-organize settings. This shouldn't matter much, as you can have your auto-organize template ready to go if you ever need to restore your files from backup, anyway. **If you're embedding the artwork, be sure to uncheck the box that will reduce it to 200px. **If you want to backup files from the Inbox or others that aren't in Music, Audiobooks and/or Videos, you can add them as folders. **There's probably no need to sync specific playlists, since you can copy those files separately (see below) **Be sure to check "delete files no longer in the auto-sync list" to have obsolete or renamed files removed. *You may need to create the target folders on your device (for instance, Letter\Music\) before MusicBee will sync to it for the first time. *Now you're ready to press the Synchronize button! Backup for Settings Backing up and restoring or copying your MusicBee settings is pretty easy if you know where to look.MusicBee's internal backup feature will copy most of the necessary files, but doesn't offer any way to restore them or instructions on where to put them. Doing it yourself means you know where the files came from, plus you can be sure anything really important to you isn't left out. There are basically two locations where your MusicBee settings files are stored: your Library folder and your AppData folder. For a complete backup, copy those two folders somewhere. You may also wish to copy some files from the MusicBee installation folder. If you only want to keep certain parts of your settings, or have files from a backup and need to know where to put them, see the list below. Library Folder The location of the library folder is set in Library Preferences.If you have multiple libraries, you will have more than one library folder. It typically includes these files and subfolders: *'Artist Photos:' This is the folder where artist photos saved through the Compact Player or the Now Playing Panel are stored. (The location of this folder may be customized in Tags Preferences.) *'Playlists:' Your playlists are saved here. (The location of this folder may be customized in Library Preferences.) *'Podcasts:' Your podcasts and subscription information are saved here. (The location of this folder may be customized in Library Preferences.) ** Note that you can also export your podcast subscriptions from within MusicBee as an .xml file, and import them again the same way. *'MusicBeeLibrary.mbl:' This is the database where MusicBee tracks your library. *'MusicBeeLibrarySettings.ini:' Contains all settings from Library Preferences (except Filters) and any active Auto-Organize Templates. *'Now Playing.xspf:' Your current Now Playing List. Probably non-essential. AppData Folder For a standard installation, the AppData folder will be in your local equivalent of C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\MusicBee. (AppData is typically a hidden folder in Windows Explorer.) For a portable installation, there should be a folder called AppData within the MusicBee installation directory. Files and folders may include: *'ArtistThumb:' MusicBee's internal thumbnails. Can be very large, *'Artwork:' More of the above. *'Downloads:' Default folder for files downloaded through MusicBee (except Podcasts). Probably non-essential. (The location of this folder may be customized in Internet Preferences.) *'Filters:' Contains the settings for any library filters you've created. *'Now Playing:' Some old Now Playing Lists. Non-essential. *'Saved Settings:' Contains saved main panel layouts. *'bookmarks.dat:' Details of your bookmarks *'Banned Pictures.dat:' URLs of any images you've banned in the Compact Player or Now Playing Panel. *'CustomTagConfig.xml:' Tags you've defined in the top part of the Define New Tags dialog. *'ErrorLog.dat:' MusicBee's error log, accessible through Help > Support. Non-essential unless you need to save an error report for some reason. *'GenreMapping.xml:' Any custom genre > genre category relationships you've defined in the Group Genre dialog. *'MusicBeeSettings.ini:' Contains any settings not saved elsewhere, including most Preferences and layout settings. (Accessible through Help > Support.) *'StartupSettings.ini:' A few settings that MusicBee loads at startup, including library path and skin. * Device Settings for any portable or external devices you've configured. * Possibly some files/folders related to plugins. Installation Folder For a standard installation, this will be the local equivalent of C:\Program Files (x86)\MusicBee. The things you may be interested in backing up here: *'Equaliser' if you saved any custom equalizer settings. *'Icons' if you have custom toolbar icons. *'Plugins' and Skins if you downloaded any that weren't included. *'lame.exe', bass_aac.dll, and neroAacEnc.exe, if you installed them. ---- Category:MusicBee